Political parties in Goa brace for Assembly polls

Panaji: With the Election Commission
announcing March 3 as the date for Assembly elections in Goa,
political activities in the state are expected to witness a
sudden rise as there is only a little over two months left
for the D-day.

Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi today announced
in Delhi the election dates for the five states, including
Goa.

Welcoming the announcement, all the political parties in
the state, including the ruling Congress and the opposition
BJP, said they were ready to go for the polls.
Goa Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) President Subhash
Shirodkar said the party is ready for the polls in alliance
with the NCP.

"I will be chairing a meeting of Pradesh Election
Committee on December 28 to screen the list of aspirants in
various constituencies," he said.

Minutes after the announcement of the poll schedule,
Leader of Opposition in state assembly Manohar Parrikar
demanded that the Union Government budget should be postponed
till March 3, as its presentation prior to that date would
amount to violation of the model code of conduct.
"All the advertisements, promoting Goa government in the
name of Golden Jubilee celebration of Goa`s liberation from
Portuguese rule, should be immediately withdrawn," Parrikar
demanded.

He said, the party would undertake a campaign to appeal
to the people to "liberate Goa from the corrupt rule of the
Congressmen".

According to official figures, there are around 10 lakh
registered voters in the state, which has 40 constituencies,
delimited recently.